Hair curler



arch 8, 1949., L. STALLINS 2,463,821

HAIR CURLER Filed Feb. 18, 1946 INVENTOR.

LEE STALLlNS BY ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in hair curlers and has reference more particularly to a pin curl curler of the type disclosed and claimed in my application Serial No. 614,883, filed Septem her 7, 1945, now Patent No. 2,420,107, te May 6, 1947.

Hair dressers frequently employ what is termed pin curls which are ordinarily made by wrapping a strand of hair about the finger and holding the loop thus formed in position by means of bobby pins. This method, although it results in a very satisfactory curl, is slow and for the best results requires an experienced operator.

It is the object of this invention to produce a simple device by means of which pin curls can be readily formed and held in place until the hair is set.

Another object of the invention is to produce a pin curl device that can be used by the person herself and which does not require any particular experience and no great care to obtain fine results.

A further object is to produce a pin curl device of the class referred to which shall be of very simple construction and which can therefore be sold at a comparatively low price.

A still further object of the invention is to produce a pin curl device that does not require springs or hinges and which can therefore be made small, light and neat in appearance.

The above and other objects that may become apparent as this description proceeds are attained by means of a construction and an arrangement of parts that will now be described in detail and for this purpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which the invention has been illustrated in its present preferred form, and in which:

Figure 1 shows the device in side elevation and in inoperative position;

Figure 2 shows the device in position in a holder employed in connection therewith during the time the hair strand is wound about the same;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the device, showing it in position to hold a ringlet of hair in place, the latter having been indicated by dots;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 3 and shows the ringlet of hair in place;

Figure 5 is a side elevation showing a portion of the holder; and

Figure 6 is an end view of the part shown in Figure 5.

The device that forms the subject of this invention is formed from a continuous strip of flexible nonresilient metal, such, for example, as soft brass, copper or any other suitable material that can be readily bent and which will retain its shape after bending. The material used must not be resilient to the extent that it will not retain the necessary bent shape.

In the present embodiment, the part designated by reference numeral I6 is the base and this is bent reversely at ll extending inwardly towards the middle of the base from whence the fingers l2 extend upwardly as shown most clearly in Figure l. The extreme ends of the base are inclined upwardly as shown at E3 to form stops. The upward inclination may be 45 degrees or more. The top layer of the base, which has been designated by reference numeral 14, is secured to the under layer by spotwelding or by soldering. If spotwelding is used, the welded spots are positioned approximately at the points designated by reference numerals l5. When the curler is to be used, it is inserted in a holder l6 that is preferably frusto-conical, the larger end, which has been designated by reference numeral l'l, forming a handle. The smaller end is provided with an axial opening l8 and a transverse channel IS. The curler fingers are inserted in the opening projecting upwardly thereinto and the base is arranged to lie in the transverse channel. When the curler is in place it will be held against rotation by the interengagement with the walls of the channel. The assembly shown in Figure 2 is placed against the head and a strand of hair wound around the lower end of the holder forming a ringlet like that which has been indicated by reference numeral 20 in Figure 2. When the strand of hair has been completely wound about the assembly, the holder is removed and the fingers bent outwardly into the position shown in Figures 3 and 4 in which position they serve to hold the ringlet in place until the hair has had time to set. After the hair has set, the fingers are bent back into a position substantially like that shown in Figure 1, after which the ringlet can be readily removed from the curler and combed or brushed in the usual manner. In the position shown in Figure 1, the distance between the outer surfaces of the fingers near their outer ends is greater than the diameter of the opening in the core so that they must be moved toward each other before they can be inserted in the opening, thereby producing sufdcient friction against the inside wall of the core, when inserted therein, to hold the base in the operating position as shown in Figure 2.

Attention is called to the fact that the material employed must be readily flexible and quite nonresilient so that it can be readily bent into posi- 3 tion to hold the hair as indicated and which will retain the operative position until the time has come to remove the curler. The size of the curler can, of course, be varied so as to obtain the best results.

Attention is also directed to the stops l3 which project upwardly and form with the bent fingers a substantially closed recess almost entirely encircling the hair.

In the drawing a very simple form of the invention has been shown, but it is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in specifically different constructions and instead of being made from a single piece, may be made from several pieces secured together by soldering or, spotwelding.

Although metal is believed to be the proper material, it is to be understood that the curler is to be made from any material that has the proper physical characteristics to make it suitable for the purpose.

Having described the claimed as new is:

1. A hair curling device, comprising an elongated core having one end provided with a round axial opening, a hair clamping and holding device comprising a base adapted to lie against the said one end and extend laterally therebeyond having a pair of independently bendable fingers of substantially nonresilient material extending laterally from adjacent the center thereof and diverging in a direction away from the base, the distance between the outer surfaces of said fingers near their outer ends being greater than the diameter of the opening in the core, whereby they must be moved towards each other before they can be inserted into the opening, thereby producing sufficient friction to hold the base in cooperating position in the core, the core and clamping device forming a unit about which a strand of hair may be wound, the core and base being readily separable whereby the core may be removed leaving the wound strand surrounding the fingers, the fingers being bendable away from each other from a position in which they are substantially juxtaposed to a position in which they extend in opposite directions overlapping the hair for holding it until it sets.

2. A hair curler for use in making a flat pin invention what is curl comprising a base having a plurality of substantially nonresilient fingers, each having one end connected with the base adjacent the center thereof, the fingers normally extending laterally of the base but being bendable to a position where their under surfaces are spaced from the opposed surface of the base when they are in hair retaining position, with their outer ends in a position closely adjacent the base, the fingers being bendable between said normal position and said hair retaining position, and means comprising an elongated tubular member for encircling the fingers when they are in said normal positionto effect a spacing of the hair from the fingers when it is wound about the tubular member, the latter being removable to permit the fingers to be bent outwardly into hair engaging position.

3. A hair curler for use in making a fiat pin curl, comprising an elongated member having an end about which a strand of hair may be coiled upon itself to form the curl, an opening in said end extending longitudinally of the member, a hair clamping device having a base adapted to lie against said end, the base projecting laterally thereof to engage one side face of the coils of hair, the device having fingers extending into the opening and engageable with the wall thereof, the fingers having sufficient resilience to retain the device on the elongated member while the curl is being formed, but being readily bendable so that when the device is removed the fingers may be bent to a deformed position where they overlie the opposite side face of the coils,

LEE STALLINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 498,138 McGill May 23, 1893 2,244,897 Rubira June 10, 1941 2,404,867 Simons et a1 July 30, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 25,306 Great Britain 1898 811,134 France Apr, 7, 1937 

